


You're So Far Gone, But I'm Not Leaving

by HazelGatoya



Series: My Constant State of Pitying Alphonse [5]
Category: Fire Emblem Heroes
Genre: "My Constant State of Pitying Alphonse" woooo, Brother-Sister Relationships, Eir is only mentioned but she is mentioned a LOT, Gen, He has a lot of spare time, Headcanon, Headcanon everywhere, Insomnia, Seliph decided to build a cathedral in his spare time, Sharena would totally approach Lif, Siblings, This castle needs a therapist, Timeline Shenanigans
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-02-11
Updated: 2020-02-11
Packaged: 2021-02-27 20:01:28
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,652
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22661422
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/HazelGatoya/pseuds/HazelGatoya
Summary: Sharena decides to visit Seliph at his pet project and finds someone else.
Series: My Constant State of Pitying Alphonse [5]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1667644
Comments: 4
Kudos: 22





	You're So Far Gone, But I'm Not Leaving

**Author's Note:**

> Kiran: *summons Lif*
> 
> Sharena: Hello, you are a new Hero, let's be friends!
> 
> Lif: *goes to the corner and quietly keyboard smashes in his head*
> 
> This is the result of me listening to too much StarSet. Hope you enjoy!

The nights of Askr Castle were quiet, but never still. There were far too many people here for that, far too many _Heroes_ here for that. She had never hit the history books quite as hard as her brother- people themselves were her interest. Living, breathing people that he had distanced himself from because his connections had once hurt him. They were so much more interesting to her than words on a page. But the result was the same, they both knew that those around them had suffered so, so much more than they had and yet were still willing to take up arms in a new cause, for reasons that were not always clear.

Neither of them knew the reasons behind Eir's friends, the Generals, but she was beginning to think she had an idea about one of them despite his lack of presence in the books and his carefully kept distance.

Sharena hadn't expected to find his armor, cloak, and sword in a neat pile outside of the beautiful white building that had slowly shaped itself from the ground up over the past few months... but she found that she was also not _surprised._ She did hear the telltale _k-chink, k-chink, k-chink_ of a chisel hitting marble as she approached, Seliph barely glancing up from his work as she quietly approached. He was also dressed down compared to his usual outfit, not quite as covered, the mottled black and purple scars on his arms and neck fully visible with the short-sleeved work shirt he was wearing and all of his hair tied and pinned back out of his face. She'd known that the Heir of Light would be here, it was why she had decided to walk this way with a pot of hot chocolate and two cups carefully snug in a basket.

Now, though, she set that basket down next to the pillar at the entrance- the one he _wasn't_ working on, gods forbid she inconvenience him like that- and carefully stepped from cold grass to colder stone, slipping into the cathedral, and blinking in the softened moonlight as she looked around the very white, as of now rather blank walls and floor with very little furnishing. Despite the lack of decor, there was still that overwhelming feeling of peace as she stepped inside. The air heavy with wishes and the power to have those pleas granted.

Her green gaze landed on him despite the shadows the night had brought. He was the only person inside the large interior after all, sitting on one of the three wall benches and slumped against the wall at his back, breathing slightly labored but deep and even despite the fact that his position _could_ not be comfortable. "There are cushions on the bench you're sitting on, Líf," she whispered as she approached him, her loose blonde hair and white nightgown fluttering behind her. "And it's big enough for you to stretch out on fully, so _why?_ "

He gave no response, not even stirring as she came close. There was a definite wheeze to his breathing that was barely audible over Seliph's chisel, and it made something in her chest ache. Maybe the blue light helped him breathe...

Still, he'd come down here, and he'd removed all of his armor, including the odd blue mask and chest plate that showed his bones. He looked completely human right now, even if his skin was still that unhealthy pallor and his hair was still that slightly tangled, long mess that this world's Alphonse would never allow, gold tips rusted into steel gray. He was wearing a simple Askran shirt and pants, his feet and hands bare. He was even shivering slightly in the cold night air despite the fact that he seemed far too tired to wake to anything. She wondered how long it had been since he'd truly slept like this. 

But he was sleeping now, so she padded away, back out to where his armor and cape were so that she could pick up the folded furs and scurry back inside with them. She carefully placed the cape around his shoulders, taking the black spiked chain and drawing it around his shoulder. He finally stirred at the clasp clicking, the _k-chink, k-chink, k-chink_ somehow quieter than the _clack_ , drawing in a deep, slightly rattling breath. His red eyes flickered open, and he stared at her through his bangs blankly. "Heya," she greeted him, smiling gently and noting that he still looked horribly dazed. "You shouldn't be sleeping against the wall."

"Nnh," was the response she got, but he was apparently too tired to protest her being near this time. She nudged his legs with her own, and he drew them up onto the bench, letting her push him down onto his side where the spiked clasp wasn't. Properly on the cushions this time even as he gave a couple of coughs, his freezing cold hand curling around hers. "Sharena..." he muttered, and he sounded so lost that it hurt again. He wasn't that much older, she didn't think, and yet he sounded so much older and looked far too sick for her to properly tell. 

"Yeah, I'm here," she replied, giving his hand a slight squeeze. It was already starting to warm up a bit, that odd gray energy she'd seen around Duma and Thrasir sparking to life briefly, the powerful feeling of peace the cathedral brought amplifying just for that moment, and she saw his eyes slide closed again. "Go back to sleep. You kinda need it, Alphonse."

"...Kind of..." His breathing evened out, the slight wheezing still present, but it had lessened and he wasn't shivering anymore. Sharena smiled gently, and blinked when she realized that the sound of Seliph's chisel was gone. She carefully took her hand back from Líf, and headed back out into the less present air outside of the cathedral.

He was still working, he was just brushing the dust off of the pillar with a cloth instead of chiseling, but he actually looked up at her this time, blue eyes meeting hers. "So, I take it you figured it out," he remarked without preamble.

Sharena blushed despite herself. Of course Seliph knew, he tended to know everything, and... well, if anyone here understood complicated family stuff, it would be him. "Well, yeah, it's pretty obvious who he is. Arvis gave him the hard squint the other day and Eir knows too despite her faulty memory. But even if he wasn't my brother, I'd still make sure he was at least warm in there. I see you put cushions down."

"People keep coming here when they cannot sleep and I cannot fathom how they manage to drift off despite the chisel," Seliph sighed, folding up the chisel and mallet inside the cloth, tucking them away. "I don't want people to have back problems."

"This place is holy ground, Seliph. Even I can feel it and I don't _need_ it like those who come here in the middle of the night do." Sharena gave a small shrug, shivering as a breeze came by, and he immediately took notice, picking up his own jacket and handing it to her with no hesitation. As many of the other men here would do, sweethearts that they were. Sharena put in on with a small smile, even though it wouldn't help her cold feet, picking up the basket. "Your baby here is one huge insomnia project anyways, so I'm not that surprised."

"...I suppose "huge insomnia project" is one way to put it." He stood up straight with his box of tools, and they began to walk back towards the gardens. "I'm surprised to see you out here at all with what time it is."

"Have you ever had one of those nights where you just wake up and need a glass of water?" 

She saw him give a small blink, obviously thinking back. "...Not since I was very young," he replied, voice slightly distant as he tugged out the ties to his hair, just letting the long blue strands fall loosely around his shoulders. "I recall running into Lady Aideen and Lana and being quickly ushered back up to bed since it was too dangerous for me be wandering around anywhere at that point in time. Even in Tirnanog."

"Oh I remember Alphonse telling me about Lady Aideen when Eyvel came here." The blond sword woman had been greeted with open arms by both Leifs, and Sharena _definitely_ liked her. She had a good head on her shoulders, that one, and was good with children to boot! "They're identical twins, right?"

"If Eyvel is in fact Brigid, then yes." Seliph nodded as they stepped into their destination- a closed off little room with a tea table and candles. A room for watching the rain from and for right now, hiding from the cold. Both of them set their things down, and Sharena got her matchbox out to begin lighting candles. "Which I think that she is. Everyone from her generation recognizes her, and lost memory among all of our parents is not a new concept."

"Your mom got hit with it too." Sharena picked up the first candle, basking in it's warmth for a moment, and then began lighting the rest around the room. "How do they feel about you being out this late, anyways? Can't be good for you."

He sighed, picking up one of the lit candles and also began lighting the rest on the other side of the room. "Father found out about a week ago. He wasn't happy."

"They didn't _know?_ " Sharena paused at the last candle at turned around to stare at him.

"They didn't know I worked on it at night." He finished his end and walked back to place the candle he'd been working with down. "And wouldn't have, if Julius hadn't let it slip to Mother when she asked about his nightmares."

"Oh, he's still struggling, huh?" Sharena lit the last candle with a small frown, moving back to put hers away too, and then sit at the table and get out the cups and pot to pour the hot chocolate that was more warm chocolate now. "Poor kid. I'm glad that he has Lyon to help him through stuff along with you and the rest of his family."

"Prince Lyon is a godsend." Seliph slid into his chair with a poise that she could only dream of, picking up his cup and staring into the depths of the liquid. He looked tired, but definitely far more awake than people usually were at this time of night. "He and Saias definitely have Julius on the right track and I've never seen Julia quite this... happy. I'm just glad Julius comes to visit me sometimes when he can't sleep even if he never stays at the cathedral like others do. Lyon and Saias always just seem to... _know_ when he's out and about."

Sharena nodded. "Who all comes?" she asked. 

Seliph looked up, studying her for a moment, and Sharena picked up her own cup, taking a sip. "... I'm assuming the night crew?" She nodded. She knew that the clergy poked their heads in during the day. "Prince Dimitri is, of course, a regular. He helps me with what he can on the nights that he comes when I'm there, as does Finn, sometimes they come together. Edelgard, occasionally. Both Lucinas and that entire group, but you already knew that I'm sure."

"Yeah. That group struggles but at least they have each other." Sharena nodded.

"Mareeta and Corrin bring the younger Tiki sometimes, the older Tiki only comes on those nights. Again, she likely knows when the younger one is struggling, somehow. General Thrasir has, without fail, come around every night at around three in the morning since she was summoned. Sometimes with Princess Veronica in tow. Princess Eir and the gods come more because they are curious about the place than because of nightmares, though I'm sure Eir has plenty."

"Yeah... I wish we knew more about her."

"Camus and Sirius, neither have fallen asleep like some of the others. Same with Uncle Arvis, I've only seen him twice. Lewyn, of course, has come down to talk and has also fallen asleep out on the grass somehow with me working. Ninian."

"Ninian?" Sharena blinked. "I know she's quiet, but..."

"She misses her brother. She comes down to pray for his safety." Seliph tapped the table. "Prince Takumi is another regular who falls asleep more often than not. He's honestly the reason I put the cushions in, he's there almost every night. And... I don't know if he's going to be a regular, but you saw General Líf tonight."

Sharena took a mental note of all the names, and then gave a small smile. "That's a lot of people. I may have to talk to Prince Takumi more often- it's the regular one, not the one who's part of Timeline, right?"

"No, that Takumi has never come. If he did, he would have to bring Smallzura." Seliph sipped at his hot chocolate. "You have quite a few names to keep yourself and Kiran's assistants busy. As such, I'd advise leaving General Líf alone during the day for awhile. Or ask Eir how she thinks it would be best to proceed. You know he does not want to connect to you."

"It's kind of his flaw, yeah. This Askr's Alphonse has the same problem." She gave a small, wry smile, setting her cup down. "With the way he is, and how he's avoiding everyone, I've gathered that he's done something unspeakably foolish. Which isn't like Alphonse. I haven't seen him truly _guilty_ in years." Seliph gave a thoughtful nod. "But, foolish decision or not, here in Askr, under Kiran's command, we're allies. And no matter what timeline he's from, he's my brother." She set her arms on the table. "You understand, don't you?"

"I do." His voice was quiet, and he fiddled with a bit of his hair. "I'll ask Eir if she can keep an eye on him on the nights I'm not there." Sharena blinked, and he huffed. "Contrary to apparently popular belief, I am not there every night. I never work on it two nights in a row, if I cannot sleep despite being awake for nearly forty hours-most of those doing hard physical labor- I ask for assistance. My parents would likely ground me if I didn't despite the fact that I'm an adult man."

"You are the most responsible person I've ever met on all fronts, you know that?" Sharena grinned before the smile softened. "I really do appreciate your help, and the cathedral, Seliph. Even if it's maybe not the best place for these people to find refuge, it's still a place, and obviously one is needed."

"Anything to help, Princess Sharena." He set the empty cup down, looking down at it again, his blue eyes hidden behind his bangs. "In my home, in my timeline, my uncle and younger brother are dead and I have put up my sword to take their place and try to do what my uncle and parents could not. Here, everyone is alive and fighting for the freedom of the realms, and I am barely deployed. If I can give back to you, just a little, then I think that is more than enough reward for me."

Sharena's soft smile stayed. Oh to hope beyond hope that she never had to experience the hell that some of these Heroes had gone through. With Líf here, disaster seemed only a few steps away, but that wasn't his fault. "Still, Seliph, thank you. We'll spread peace and comfort together. Hope is our banner..."

"And our bonds are our shield. I know, Princess."

She only hoped that both of her foolish brothers remembered that one day.

**Author's Note:**

> _I've been looking for a way to bring you back to life_
> 
> _And if I could find a way, then I would bring you back tonight_
> 
> _I'd make you look, I'd make you mine, I'd take the coldness from your eyes..._
> 
> _But you told me,_
> 
> _"If you love me, let it die."_
> 
> Let It Die, Starset


End file.
